Session 68
The Floor of the Battle.
Above you, the massive, blinding white beam that tore through the heavens begins to waver like a rope rapidly unraveling. The impossible view of Mount Celestia through the expanding rift becomes distorted, shimmering, and then, with a soundless rush of displaced air, the rift snaps shut. The obsidian ceiling above is once again whole, albeit scarred by the phantom image of where the tear had been. The connection, the bridge to the heavens, is severed.
- Lazarus rushes to comfort his mother.
She reaches a trembling hand, weak and almost translucent, to cup his cheek, leaving a faint, ethereal glow where she touches him. A fragile smile touches her lips, and her voice is a whisper, barely audible in the suddenly quiet chamber. "My son... your light... It's beautiful..." Her hand falls, her eyes closing. She slumps back into unconsciousness, utterly spent but breathing shallowly. The last remnants of the pure white light within her dim to nothing
- Lazarus picks his mother up and carries her for the rest of the journey back home.
- After the battle with Kush, the rest of the party uncovers the secrets of the main chamber, but before exploring, Zor had disappeared from the main chamber.
- Suddenly, Darpon appears doing a slow, methodical clap, and he snaps his fingers, and the entire chamber goes quiet. He teleports behind Wild and whispers something in their ear. With no hesitation, Wild shakes Darpon's hand, and they both disappear into a cloud of fairy dust.
- Izen and Lazarus uncover an organ that, when played right, opens a secret passage to the east.
- The party explores the secret passage and uncovers the treasure room, but lying in the corner was Yearld, half turned into a flind. Lazarus comforts Yearld as he was dying from the ritual. Yearld hands Lazarus the Ioun stone that the party was looking for.
- The party explores the rest of the lower level and determines their best course of action is to leave.
Out of the Obsidian Castle.
- The party leaves the castle through Kush's entrance.
As you finally emerge from the echoing depths of the obsidian castle, the relative quiet of the inner fortress is shattered by the deafening roar of absolute carnage. The fragile order imposed by Kush and the ritual has utterly dissolved. The city before you, once menacingly organized, has erupted into a sprawling, hellish riot. The demonic and devilish forces, moments ago a unified army poised for conquest, have fractured into ancient, bitter rivalries. The invasion is over, the central authority is gone, and the eternal Blood War has reasserted itself with blinding, hellish fury. Everywhere you look, the city is a battlefield of pure pandemonium. Devils, with their rigid, military formations, are desperately trying to hold ground, only to be overwhelmed by the sheer, chaotic savagery of demons who tear through their ranks.
- Muta leads the party through the hellscaped city to Irgreth's Shop.
Fires rage unchecked across the citadel walls, casting the chaotic warfare in flickering, violent shadows. The air is thick with the stench of brimstone, burnt flesh, and the metallic tang of fresh blood. The ground trembles beneath the constant impact of monstrous blows, and the sky above is choked with black smoke and the forms of flying fiends clashing mid-air. The entire city is tearing itself apart, a true, unrestrained Blood War erupting right before your eyes. Your escape has become a desperate race through a war zone where neither side cares which mortal they step on.
- The party arrives at Irgretch's Shop, finding it destroyed by the chaos. Zor is there helping Irgretch pack his things. Muta demands the money for the heads of Kush and the rest of the kishi demons.
- Irgretch holds up his end of the deal and pays Muta, but he asks Muta to help escape the city.
- The party agrees, hesitantly.
Escape from hell.
- As the party makes their escape, Telgan, the fallen angel, swoops down to them and aids them. With the power of Zor and Telgan, they can take down Demon 2 of the colosol demons guarding the entrance to the gate.
- They rush across the narrow obsidian bridge and to the lava river, where they meet Charon.
- Before entering the boat, Irgretch gets the attention of Muta and asks her how she was able to control Zor for some time. Muta told him what she had done. The small demon, seemingly angry by being deceived, glares at the party as Charon sets off down the river stix.
- The party zips through the levels of hell, almost directly getting to the first level.
- The party rushes through the battlefield of demons and makes it back to the Obsidian pillar, Arthur still there, holding up the massive boulder, almost blocking the entrance. The only thing not broken on his skeletal body but his skull, the bright flask stone in his eye shining bright.
- The party dashes under the boulder, Myrion grabbing Arthur on the way out.
Out of Hell and a Holy Ritual.
- The party escapes hell and rests in the old ruins in the dead monkey's ruins. The air is a lot colder, and Alkinn notices that the bodies in the ruins are no longer fresh and have seemed to have been rotting for around 3 months. Exiting the Village, their worst fears had come to pass; they had been in hell for only 3 days, but in the material plane, it was 3 months.
- The party, feeling like they had to move, rushed out of the deadly cannibal village where they had entered hell.
Just as you clear the last crumbling stone wall of the town, an ethereal chorus begins to swell from the heavens themselves. You look up, and the sky above the town is becoming a canvas of pure, divine energy. A vast, circular ritual begins to form, a celestial mandala painted directly onto the firmament. Shimmering, golden light emanates from an unseen source, coalescing into intricate patterns. You see impossible geometries shift and weave, forming elegant script and symbolic imagery of purity, justice, and protection. Stylized wings, glowing halos, and watchful, multi-eyed figures briefly shimmer into existence, moving with a silent, profound purpose. As these divine glyphs complete their circuit, a sound unlike any you've ever heard resonates through your very bones. It is a massive, harmonious choir, a wave of holy chants sung in perfect unison, each voice pure and resonant, speaking of divine judgment and cleansing fire. It's a sound that fills you with awe and a profound sense of rightness, a stark contrast to the cacophony of the Hells. Then, from the center of this celestial mandala, a single, colossal beam of pure, blinding white light descends. It is an unblemished, incandescent pillar of divine power. It strikes the obsidian obelisk with the force of a thousand suns. The impact is silent, yet utterly cataclysmic. The obelisk, and with it the cursed town, disintegrates. Not a single stone is thrown, not a sound of impact is made. It simply ceases to be, atom by atom, swallowed whole by the pure, cleansing energy. Where the obelisk and town once stood, there is now only a vast, smoking crater, still faintly glowing with residual divine light. The land is purified, cleansed of the hellish stain.
- Amazed, they watch as the light disappears, but something more concerning happens. Multicolored, almost string-like bands of light come racing toward the impact zone. Myrion, knowing this is the Wizard Council, tells the party they must move before getting caught.
More News
- As the party rushes through the forest back to Trynard, Muta hears the thieves can't whistle for attention. She directs the party to stop and responds. A familiar face, Ulsa the thief. Myrion tells everyone that he is a thief whom they hired to help the party in uncovering the secrets of the Thieves Guild.
- Ulsa complains, saying he has been waiting for the party for 3 months, and hands the party a bundle of wanted posters.
- Of course, the poster is of the entire party except Wild. Ulsa informs them that the party is basically infamous with the Wizard Council, and that the town of Nore has vanished along with Sogen and the rest of the residents. A large section of the country of Glab Glana has been taken over by unusual plants, and the wizard council has made a huge prison in the northern country of Tundon. The wizard council was also cracking down on criminals, making the thieves' guild more elusive than ever.
- Ulsa tells the party he will make arrangements going forward after they take care of Lazarus's mother, and he will meet up with them later.
The Heavens Closed Off
- The party treks their way to the city of Trynard, staying away from prying eyes, and they are finally able to rest at the abandoned thieves' outpost. ( LEVEL UP!!!!)
- The party is awakened by a small cat meowing to the group, this obviously being an archon like before, the party follows the cat to the Whispering Key.
- The Small Tavern, once a home to multiple Archons, now seemed almost abandoned. Idris and Vokril greeted the party. Idris is taking Lazarus's Mother away from him, telling him he was thankful, and they embrace each other, but something seemed to be off with Idris.
- Vokril informs Lazarus that this will be one of the last times that they will be seeing each other because the High god of Justice Tyre decreed that the heavens must be shut off from the material plane.
- Lazarus vows to see them again, and with that, Vokril, Idris, and Lazarus's Mom disappear to Mount Celestia.
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